HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Two new employees recently joined the Integrated Prevention and Resilience program office to help connect military and civilian federal employees and their families here with resources available.
Kristin Wright, the installation violence prevention integrator, and Sydney Herminghaus, Hanscom’s integrated prevention and resilience specialist, join Dr. Abigail Cutter, the community support coordinator, to form the Integrated Prevention and Resilience program.
“The focus of my position is largely to implement and maintain primary prevention programs for interpersonal and self-directed violence, such as suicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment and child abuse,” said Wright. “It's my goal to perform outreach with leaders, Airmen and family members.”
Herminghaus will serve as deputy to Cutter and Wright in her new role.
“I will be in direct contact with the Air Force Materiel Command resiliency program manager to update and improve our program and curriculum here,” she said. “I’ll also be working to find innovative ways of providing and building upon resiliency skills for all those working from home or in-person.”
Both provide several years of experience.
Wright has an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master’s degree in Human Relations, a social science-focused degree that encompasses psychology, sociology, anthropology and counseling. She previously served as a civilian with the Providence Veterans Administration and at Fort Benning in Georgia as a guidance counselor.
“I helped to stand up an Assault and Harassment office for the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Wright said. “I gained a lot of experience in those areas while in this position.”
Herminghaus has a bachelor’s degree in logistics management and is working on a bachelor’s in sociology. Additionally, she was recently selected as a first sergeant for the 337th Airlift Squadron at Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts, where she serves militarily in the Air Force Reserves.
“I’ve been volunteering with the Integrated Prevention and Resilience team since about the moment I started working in the 66th Logistics Readiness Squadron last summer,” she said. “I also do a lot of community work, volunteering for veterans’ nonprofits.”
Both are determined to make a positive impact on the Hanscom community.
“I want to reach more members of the Hanscom community to assist with educating a wider audience on violence prevention programs, and providing them with lifesaving intervention tools,” said Wright.
Highlighting the role of intervention, Hanscom’s new VPI coordinator wants to further integrate prevention into her role.
“We want to start that prevention conversation and keep it going," she said. "If we can prevent violence from occurring, even in one person, I'm doing my job.”
A key aspect of that is suicide prevention.
“I'm focused a lot on providing the prevention and intervention, skills and education for the community regarding suicide,” said Wright, who also serves as the installation’s suicide prevention program manager.
Herminghaus, a certified master resilience trainer, wants to help people navigate life’s challenges.
“My passion is helping people,” she said. “I don’t want anybody to ever feel like they don’t matter or that they don’t belong.”
As Hanscom’s integrated prevention and resilience specialist, Herminghaus will work to provide skills that help members of the community.
“It's important the entire community learn these skills," she said. "When we start practicing them on good days, we'll have the strength to ask for help on the bad days. We don't have to do everything alone.”
With the addition of Wright and Herminghaus, Cutter will focus her efforts on community support.
“I am thrilled we have a larger team than we’ve ever had before with the addition of Sydney’s position,” she said. “This is going to increase our capacity for getting out and about in our community, specifically finding ways to connect with all community members here on Hanscom, including family members, no matter which branch of service.”
For additional information, visit the team’s Facebook and Instagram page or contact them directly at kristin.wright.1@us.af.mil or sydney.herminghaus.1@us.af.mil.
For Air Force-level resilience programs, visit https://www.resilience.af.mil/.